Lancashire teachers' own children could get priority for admission to the schools where they work

County Hall is set to carry out a public consultation on a proposed change to the criteria for how it allocates places to pupils when a school has received more applications than it has available capacity.

The suggested tweak to the the arrangements for dealing with oversubscribed schools would also see a level of priority being given to the children of armed forces personnel.

It is hoped that prioritising the offspring of school staff would help in the recruitment and retention of teachers. A meeting of the county council’s cabinet at which the consultation was approved heard that representations had been received from several primary and secondary headteachers requesting the move for that very reason.

The changes would affect the 235 community and voluntary controlled schools in Lancashire.

However, many of the other schools in the county that set their own admissions criteria - like academies and diocesan church schools - have already taken the same step since it was permitted in new national rules in 2021, leaving county council-run schools at risk of being disadvantaged in the search for staff.

As part of the proposed change, children of staff would take third spot in the admissions criteria and pupils entitled to the “Services Premium” - because of one or both of their parents’ work in the forces - would slot in behind in fourth.

That would still leave the newly-prioritised groups behind looked-after children and those deemed to have “exceptional medical social or welfare reasons” - but ahead of children with siblings at the school and, finally, those considered for admission on the basis of the distance between the school and where they live.

Papers presented to the cabinet state: “Giving priority to children of staff within the admission criteria may encourage applicants who live outside the area and school staff may be less likely to look for other jobs if their children are being educated at the school where they work.”

In order to be eligible for the new priority ranking for their children, staff would either have to have been employed at the school for at least two years at the time the application was made or have been recruited to fill a post where there is "a demonstrable skill shortage".

Cabinet member for education and skills Jayne Rear added: “It is known that the location and access to schools for their children can influence the decision of teachers and support staff when applying for a post.

“Including children eligible for [the] Services Premium will enable us to support armed forces families, acknowledging not only the service their patents provide in defence of our country, but also the educational-related disadvantages that can arise for children that are obliged to move with their families to postings all around the country and overseas - sometimes at very short notice.”

Last year the Ministry of Defence issued statutory guidance containing an expectation that local authorities take all possible steps to support armed forces families in the delivery of their services

The consultation will run from 10th November until 22nd December and, if the changes are ultimately approved, they will come into force from September 2025. There have been no changes to the oversubscription admission criteria for Lancashire’s maintained schoold for a decade.

THE PROPOSED PRIORITY LIST

The changes being consulted upon would see priority – in cases where a school did not have enough space for the number of applicants for places – ranked as follows:

When a primary or secondary school with a Geographical Priority Area, is oversubscribed, [these] priorities will be applied in order:1. Looked after children or a child who was previously looked after, but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order or those children who appear to the school to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted, then...2. Children for whom the Local Authority accepts that there are exceptional medical, social or welfare reasons which are directly relevant to the school concerned, then...3. Children of Staff, then…4. Children eligible for Services Premium, then...5. Children living within the school’s geographical priority area with older brothers or sisters attending the school when the younger child will start, then...

6. Children living within the school’s geographical priority area, then...

7. Children living outside the school’s geographical priority area with older brothers or sisters still attending the school when the younger child will start, then...

8. Children living outside the school’s Geographical Priority Area.

When a primary school is oversubscribed on parental preferences, then the following priorities apply in order:1. Looked after children or a child who was previously looked after, but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order or those children who appear to the school to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted, then...2. Children for whom the Local Authority accepts that there are exceptional medical social or welfare reasons which are directly relevant to the school concerned, then...

3. Children of staff, then...

4. Children eligible for Services Premium, then...

5. Children with older brothers and sisters attending the school when the younger child will start, then...6. Remaining places are allocated according to where a child lives. Those living nearest to the preferred school by a straight line (radial) measure will have priority.

Source: Lancashire County Council